Why buy digital? The touch is different from ordinary piano.
There are many reasons to buy a digital and you're incorrect in saying that "the touch is different from an ordinary piano." The best digitals have weighted actions that mimic the resistance you encounter on a grand piano. The incredible oversampling provides very realistic reproduction -- only with a massive overload of tones while pedalling do you hear some deficiency.
They are perfect for apartment dwellers in big cities where neighbors don't want to hear you practicing. With headphones, you're in heaven and no one can hear you. I switch back and forth from the digital (evenings) to my grand (mid-afternoon hours) and don't feel cheated on the digital.
Top-of-the-line digitals are affordable and never need tuned. I have a technician who regulates the action periodically for me and that's it. My grand, however, costs a small fortune in maintenance.
I'd rather have a great digital than some crappy spinet or thumpy upright.
Congrats on your new instrument. As to exercises, get yourself a beginner's course for adult students. You should find enough material in there to get you started until you get a teacher.